Asia Times: US healthcare debate sick to the heart

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US healthcare debate sick to the heart
By Julian Delasantellis


Whether the late John Hughes will go down as one of the greatest directors of all times in terms of artistic proficiency will be a matter of debate among movie critics; what won't be in question was his ability to spin the box office numbers to amazingly elevated heights. Most prominent among them was 1990's Home Alone, at the time the third highest, and number one comedy, grossing film of all time.

The story begins as an extended American family is marshalling in Chicago for a trip to Paris. The adults, Peter, (John Heard) and Kate (Catherine O'Hara) run through a checklist to make sure they have made all the preparations for the trip, dealing with the house's utilities, their luggage, and, especially, all their nieces, nephews and their own children. To their horror, at the airport they realize that they have forgotten just one thing, their youngest child, 8-year-old Kevin (Macauley Caulkin).

The US Congress is scheduled to be on vacation until September 8, but, sometimes it seems like, in all their preparations, they've forgotten something important, just like in Home Alone.

"Did we get the bribes from the insurance industry?"
"Check."
"From the pharmaceutical industry?"
"Got it."
"The doctor's lobby? Where's their big check?"
"Right here."
"How about the hospitals? Have they come through?"
"Big time."
"So what have we forgotten? I keep thinking we have forgotten something?"

Well, could it be any type of input or real consultation with the people? Has it been that long since Congress abased itself with the quaint custom of rule by popular consent that it totally slipped their mind? If so, is what we are seeing in the raucous mouths now showing up at congressional "town meetings" only a natural outgrowth of the American people being too long "home alone?"

At this time last year, the political news from America was all bright and gay, full of the boundless optimism being engendered by then presidential candidate Barack Obama's awesome ability to rally, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, the "better angels of our nature" in order to repair the wounds and rents inflicted through eight years of the awesome incompetence of George W Bush's reign.

Now, a man shows up at a town meeting with Obama carrying a loaded semi-automatic pistol in a fully on display holster, carrying a sign with all but the last seven words of Thomas Jefferson's 1787 dictum that "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." What indicates just how much things have changed from last year is not the fact that this man, William Kostric, chose to exercise his gun-carrying rights in this fashion. It's that so many, perhaps up to a third of Americans or more, can't see what all the fuss is about that he did. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/KH19Dj03.html